It has been announced that Dwight Little, the director behind Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid and Free Willy 2, has been chosen to helm the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Tekken, Namco Bandai’s popular fighting franchise.

“The film plays out as a science fiction story set in the near future, about a rebel who rises up against the Tekken Corp. to seize freedom for his people,” Little said to Variety. “It’s a gladiator story, but the video game has a complicated enough storyline that it provides the template for a martial arts spectacular.”

The movie’s script has been penned by Alan McElroy (Spawn, Halloween 4) and will begin production on February 4, 2008.

Translated reports from Japanese games magazine Famitsu reveal that Tekken: Dark Resurrection will be released for the PS3 via its online store. Originally released for the PSP, the game will run natively in 1080p resolution and feature updates to all of the modes from the arcade game and will include the ability to play as the boss Jinpaichi. It is not clear whether it will have online multiplayer.

The title will be a download totaling 800 MB in size. No release date or price was given.

Although not currently implemented, Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada has gone on record to say that Tekken 6 may feature motion sensor functionality that was unveiled at Sony’s pre-E3 conference. He went on to give an example of how it might be used – for instance, players would have to shake their way free when they are in a stranglehold.

Speaking to Japanese publication IT Media, Harada also went on to say that the fighters shown in the trailer during this E3 were still at an experimental state, and that further changes will take place until the end of the game’s development.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t comment on the game’s release date, or whether it would feature online multiplayer or not.

Namco will be showcasing 19 of its highly anticipated titles at this year’s E3. Set up at booth #824 in the South Hall, the company will be showing off new installments in notable franchises including Xenosaga Episode III, Tales of the Abyss, Ace Combat X, Tekken Dark Resurrection and The Legend of Heroes II. They will also be showing off Hellgate: London, Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, Naruto, One Piece, Ultimate Ninja and more. Below is the full lineup:

• Xenosaga EPISODE III: Also sprach Zarathustra
  
• Tales of the Abyss
  
• Pac-Man World Rally
  
• Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
  
• Tekken: Dark Resurrection
  
• The Legend of Heroes II: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch
  
• Mobile Ops™: The One Year War
  
• Mage Knight Apocalypse
  
• Warhammer: Mark of Chaos
  
• HELLGATE: LONDON
  
• The Fast and The Furious
  
• Snoopy vs. The Red Baron
  
• Charlie Brown’s All-Stars
  
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja
  
• Zatchbell!: Mamodo Fury
  
• .hack//G.U. Vol.1: Rebirth
  
• One Piece Grand Adventure
  
• IGPX
  
• Eureka Seven Vol 1: The New Wave

A look at Sony’s release schedule discloses that Tekken: Dark Resurrection, the portable fighter, will be released for the PSP this September, delayed from its initial Summer timeframe.

Namco has finally officially announced Tekken: Dark Resurrection, the first handheld entry in the venerable series. The PSP game will feature 30 characters from the series, with Armor King making his return in the game, which will also sport two new characters from the arcade version: Dragunov and Lili. A total of 19 “ass-kicking” stages will be present, offering new gameplay modes beside the arcade mode. Two player head-to-head combat will be featured via wireless, letting friends/strangers duke it out.

Tekken: Dark Resurrection is scheduled for release this Summer. An official Japanese website is online, and is home to hundreds of screenshots and information on various characters from the game.